Flue-cleaner



W. G. WILLIAMS.

Hue-Glealler..Y

No. 227,398. Patented May n. 1880.

Inverlior.

Wzzw

N. PETERS. PNOTO-L|TMDGRPNER. WASHINGTON. D C.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS, OF CINCINNATI, OHIO.

FLUE-CLEANER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 227,398, dated May 11,1880.

`Application tiled February 16, 1880.

To all 'whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS, of Cincinnati, Hamilton county,Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFlue-Cleaners, of which the following is a specication.

This invention relates to those devices which employ wipers or rubbersof gum-elastic or leather or other exible material for sweeping' dust,soot, Snc., from the lues of steam-boilers; and the first part of myimprovements consists in making such wipers of two or morev separate anddistinct sets of annular segments placed in direct contact with eachother, the segments of one set being arranged to break joints with thesegments of the other set, as hereinafter more fully described.

The second part of my invention comprises a novel combination of cap,braces, nuts, bolts, and spider wherewith to clamp these segmentalwipers to the annular head and to attach the latter to the handle of theimplement, as hereinafter more fully described, and

pointed ont in the claims.

In the annexed drawings, Figure lis an axial section of my improvedHue-cleaner. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, a portion of thecap and some of the outer segments being broken away. Fig. 3 is an axialsection of the component members of the head detached from each other,and Fig. ais an enlarged plan of a portion of the exible segments.

A represents a ring having a circular flange, B, around which latter aredisposed the elastic wipers or cleaners, as will presently appear. Thisring has a series of perforations, a, to admit the screw-threaded endsof the braces H, and also to receive the bolts or screws N, that clampthe head together, the rear side of said ring having fastened to it at ca spider, C, the center of the latter being pierced at d for thereception of a bolt or screw, D, that unites the head to the handle orshaft K.

E represents the outer set of annular segments, which are pierced at eto receive the braces H and bolts N. F represents the inner set orseries of annular segments, which latter have holes j' for the samepurpose as the ones e. These segments constitute the rubbers or wipersproper of the cleaner, and are arranged to break joints, as more clearlyshown in Fig. 4. Of these iiexible annular segments two or more sets maybe applied to the head, according to the use the brush is intended for..The outer member of said head is a ring-cap, Cr, pierced at g to admitthe braces and bolts.

Hrepresents the brace-rods,whose horizontal treminations pass throughthe holes a e j' g and have nuts l1. engaged with their screw-threadedends, as seen in Figs. l and 2. Furthermore, these rods are bentoutwardly at I to serve as stops and guides, washers or nuts hbeinginterposed between said stops and the back of ring A. The oppositeor unthreaded ends of these braces may be secured directly to the handleK; but they are preferably united to a coupling, J, which latterreceives said handle and the pole L, nails or screws Z being employedfor securing the pole in position. N are bolts that coact with nuts h inclamping the cap G to thering A.

My implement is used in the customary way, the flexibility of thesegments causing them to lit snugly within the boiler-fines or otherpassages that require cleaning, and in case a rivethead should happen tocome exactly in line with the parting of either ofthe wipers Eit isevident saidrivet would be opposed by the middle portion of the otherrubber, F, or vice versa. Consequently one set of segments serves topreserve the proper ilexibility of the other set or sets of segments,and therefore the wipers or rubbers will maintain their elasticity untilthey are Worn down tothe clamping-rngsAG.

In forcing the cleaner through the flue the rubbers E F will naturallybend back, and to prevent them being sprung too far the stops I areprovided to limit thedeiiection of the same. In addition to serving asstops for the rubbers, these portions I of the braces act as guides toconfine the cleaner to a proper path within the flue, and such of saidstops as happen to be at the bottom of the flue perform the functions ofbearers, and thereby prevent the entire weight ofthe implement beingthrown on the lower edges ot' the segments E F. These stops I may belocated much nearer the ring A than is shown in the drawings.

Evidently the frame or head herein described may be used with any formof wiper, no mat- IOO ter Whether the latter is made in segments or is acomplete annulus.

Finally, it is preferred to make the members A, B, G', G, and J, and insome cases the braces H, of sheet metal, so as to combine strength andlightness; but I do not propose to limit the construction to any specialmaterial.

I claim as my inventionl. The combination, in a Hue-cleaner, of two ormore distinct sets of segmental Wipers or rubbers placed in directcontact with each other, arranged to break joints, substantially asherein described.

2. The combination, in a flue-cleaner, of head A B, elastic annularWiper E, cap G, and braces H, which latter have nuts h to clamp said capand Wiper to the head of the imple ment, substantially as described.

3. The combination, in a flue-cleaner, of head A B, elastic annularWiper E, cap G, zo braces H, nuts h, and bolts or screws N,substantially as herein described.

4. The combination, in a flue-cleaner, of head A B, elastic annularWiper E, cap G, braces H lb, bolts N D, spider C, and handle 25 K,substantially as herein described.

In testimony of Which invention I hereunto set my hand.

WILLIAM G. WILLIAMS.

Witnesses:

J AMEs El. LAYMAN, J. F. TWOHIG.

